Undeleteable photos on iPhone

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Undeleteable photos on iPhone

I have an iPhone 14 iOS 16.1.1. I have images and video in my Photos app that have been brought along through all the device and iOS updates over the years. All of these Photos images and videos have been backed up on my mac, and from there backed up again in multiple ways on multiple platforms. The iCloud Photos option and My Photo Stream are both turned off, and they always have been turned off - I have never used them.

So here is the problem. I want to permanently remove all the photos and videos from my iPhone. But I have a LOT of old images and videos that Photos refuses to delete (I select them, and either no trash can or grayed-out trash can). They are stuck in my iPhone's Photos library, and I want them gone.

My question: Is there a way to reset the Photos library on my iPhone? Failing that, how do I get rid of these things without resetting the whole phone?

iPhone 14

Posted on Feb 12, 2023 1:14 PM

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Answer 1

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aburkholder Author

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Feb 13, 2023 7:18 AM in response to aburkholder

I found a solution that seems to work - at least so far.

NOTE: do not try this if you use iCloud Photos. I am pretty sure it will destroy your online library.

To wipe out persistent photos/videos from your iPhone:

On the mac, create a new photo library and designate it as the System Library Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac - Apple Support
Connect the iPhone to the mac.
In Finder’s sidebar, under the Locations section, select the iPhone.
In the central iPhone panel, select the Photos tab.
Click the Sync button.
After sync is complete, disconnect as usual.

In my case, my iPhone photo library was - at long last - cleared out. I cam now switch between libraries, making any of them the “System Library”, and if I sync the iPhone, it will update itself to that library. I am so thankful I never used iCloud. I cannot imagine what a mess that would be for my situation.

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Answer 2

Feb 12, 2023 1:18 PM in response to aburkholder

If the photos were among those synced over from a Mac, they’ll be changeable only from the Mac. Or synced from Windows, similarly. I’d expect to have to off-load all and then reset at least all photos to remove those, if not reset the iPhone.

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Answer 3

aburkholder Author

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Feb 12, 2023 2:56 PM in response to MrHoffman

LOL!!! The mac that those photos were originally synced is long gone. These are objects on my phone. The idea that Apple should not let me do what I judge proper with MY data is intolerable, regardless of where it originated.

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Answer 4

léonie

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Feb 13, 2023 11:11 AM in response to aburkholder

"NOTE: do not try this if you use iCloud Photos. I am pretty sure it will destroy your online library."

That should not be a problem. When we enable iCloud Photos, all photos and videos synced manually from a computer will automatically be erased from the iPhone, as manually syncing with the Finder or iTunes is not compatible with iCloud Photos - both methods of syncing are mutually exclusive.

In fact, turning on iCloud Photos temporarily (without "optimize iPhone Storage") is the quickest way to erase all synced photos from the device.

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Undeleteable photos on iPhone

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